St. Thomas’ students look for compensation

Students at St. Thomas’ University are negotiating with their university for compensation related to a month long faculty lock-out/strike which ended with the resumption of classes February 5.

Canadian University Press reports the university is assuring students there will be some form of compensation for students who incurred direct costs, such as airline cancellation fees, from the strike. The amount of compensation will be determined following arbitration for a new faculty contract.

The lock-out began December 27, 2007 prior to the originally scheduled term two start date of January 3, 2008. The faculty and administration were unable to agree to a new contract eventually agreeing to arbitration.

Student compensation is not without precedent, students at Acadia were compensated with a tuition credit of $275 after a fall 2007 faculty strike. Students at the University of Saskatchewan are being offered a $25 refund for services lost during a five-week support staff strike.